What state has the most basements?

On average, in the United States, basements are most commonly found in the Midwest. This includes states such as Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri.

Where are basements most common?

In North America, cellars usually are found in rural or older homes on the coasts and in the South. However, full basements are commonplace in new houses in the Canadian and American Midwest and other areas subject to tornado activity or requiring foundations below the frost line.

Why are there no basements in Texas?

Phil Crone, executive director for the Dallas Builders Association, said basements are also not as common in Texas because the frost line — the depth below the ground where the soil does not freeze in the winter — is much shallower in Texas than up north.

Why are there no basements in California?

“It's easier to build without a basement if you were doing assembly-line construction.” In addition, fear of earthquakes was often cited as a reason for the dearth of basements in the Golden State.

Why are basements rare in Georgia?

Generally, Georgia homes do not have basements included. Georgia's soil type, climate, and water table level are not conducive to a basement or makes a strong need for one. With warm temperatures and clay soils, Georgia isn't the ideal state to have a basement.

What states have basements

Does Texas have basements?

In fact, almost all the big Texas buildings the Texanist can think of, both historic and new, have basements. But you are absolutely right that few houses in Texas are similarly equipped.

Does California have basements?

California homes do not commonly have basements. This can be mistaken as a safety measure for seismic activity, but in reality, basements are safe as long as they are built according to code.

Are there basements in Arizona?

Because the ground doesn't freeze in Phoenix, you only have to dig 18 inches below the surface to pour concrete footing for a house. If you want a basement, you'll have to go out of your way to dig deeper. That's complicated by a common soil phenomena in the state called caliche.

Do houses in Colorado have basements?

Well, here in Denver, roughly 60 percent of all homes, including condos, have some sort of basement, according to data from the Denver Assessor's Office. Side note: There actually is a difference between basements and garden level units, at least in terms of home assessments.

What is a house without a basement called?

Slab homes are often built closer to the ground than homes with basements or crawl spaces, thus reducing the number of steps required to enter the home.

Are there basements in Hawaii?

In general, homes in Hawaii do have basements as long as they meet the necessary safety and zoning requirements. Once the requirements are met, a basement can be installed into a home if desired, providing extra space and storage to your home.

What is a Yankee basement?

They call it a “Yankee basement” or, well, sometimes a “root cellar,” where basically you take the interior perimeter of the foundation wall, move in about 2½, 3 feet and then dig down there. So you leave this sort of berm of soil to support the foundation that's under the footing.

Do homes in Tennessee have basements?

Generally, homes in Tennessee do not have basements. This is due, in part, to the fact that most homes are built on crawl space foundations. Concrete slabs are also a common choice. This is due to the rising cost of construction.

Which states in US have basements?

What is a Texas basement?

A Texas Basement is floored attic space that is typically accessible via a hallway or closet on the second floor. In some homes, the Texas Basement is accessible via a separate stairways in the garage and the floored attic space is the space above the garage.

Can I build a basement in Texas?

While it is possible to build a basement on clay soil up north, the type of clay soil in the Texas area is easily susceptible to shifting and flexing during the rainy season. Due to the high clay content in the state, the soil surface beneath and around the foundation of homes can expand up to 30 percent when wet.

Why do houses in Colorado Springs not have AC?

Plus, if it's a historic Colorado Springs home it may not have the venting system needed for air conditioning. Even if you do have air conditioning, units tend to last longer than other areas where A/C is run consistently through the day.

Is AC necessary in Colorado?

Historically, Colorado's cooler temperatures and general lack of humidity have made air conditioning less necessary. As I like to tell out-of-towners, shadows and nighttime actually make it colder here. But the move to air conditioning is not just a matter of luxury.

Why Denver homes have basements?

Colder climates like Colorado tend to have more homes with basements because generally, homes are more stable when they're anchored below the frost line. The Colorado frost line is about three to four feet below the surface, and digging an eight-foot basement puts the home's footings solidly below the frost line.

Do homes in Vegas have basements?

According to the late, great Las Vegas historian Hal Rothman, the absence of basements in Las Vegas — and their accompanying storage space — made the three-car garage a coveted status symbol.

Do houses in New Mexico have basements?

Most homes in Albuquerque don't have basements, but a few select ones do. Use the search button below to see them. The best I can tell, only about 5% of the homes in Albuquerque have basements.

Are basements cooler in Arizona?

Basements tend to be the coolest area of the house, and in Arizona you can't put a price on a cool spot in the summer months! As everyone knows, heat rises, so by eliminating the second story and opting for a basement instead, ones electricity bill would be substantially lower.

Why are there no basements in LA?

This is especially true in places like Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and eastern Texas. States that have a lot of swamp land or wetland territory, as well as those with significant amounts of coastline, simply have too much water in the ground to make most basements feasible.

Why are there no brick houses in California?

There are several reasons why brick isn't predominant: The climate: California's weather is pretty temperate-we don't get subzero temperatures like back East or in the Midwest, so we don't need the extra insulation. On top of that, in parts of California, it can get very hot, and brick holds heat in.

Are there basements in Oregon?

Walkout and Walk-up Basements are Common in Oregon.

While most homes on flat land do not include living space beneath the ground, it is common to find a walkout basement on a house built on a slope.